El Desmadre and the Aftermath of Choix

Sending 600 troops plus to the sierra of Choix

The governor of Sinaloa was critical of the Operation Condor in the region of the high mountains in a measure to combat organized crime that resulted in a confrontation between criminals and members of the Army that killed over 20 people. 

"Things have changed. If some people think that Operation Condor had a pleasant memory, for others it did not, at least when it comes to the aspect of human rights. We should implement our own operation. In fact it has already being implemented," said the Governor. 

The commander of the Third Military Region, General Moses Melo, said that more than 300 troops have already been deployed in the area of ​​the mountains of Sinaloa and Choix, and he will deploy an additional 300 troops in order to reach a total of 600. These will be in addition to the Ministerial Police that the governor will send. 

"We are doing all this to ensure the respect of human rights, above all we want to create conditions for those who have been displaced from their homes, so they can trust and return to the place that they left because of the violence," he said. 

The governor said that criminals are "fighting for plazas" not just in terms of distribution, but also in production, both in urban and rural. Now they are claiming the mountains as theirs." 

In this respect, the governor explained that "the criminals monitor who is engaged in producing and selling drugs, and if they observe a rival group looking for product, they tell the growers not sell to the rival groups and only to sell to them, if they refused, the executions suddenly appear." 

Given the fact that some of the criminals who were killed by the army in Choix are from other states (Sinaloa Cartel?), the governor said it will reach out to other authorities like Sonora and Chihuahua to work in a coordinated investigation. The region of Choix has been a strong hold of the Beltran-Layva faction. 

Displaced by violence people came to El Fuerte seeking refuge 

Due to the outbreak of violence that persists in the high mountains, families arrived en masse to the town of El Fuerte. On foot or hitching a ride they were seen in the region of Chinobampo. 

On Friday and Saturday 25 families were received from the towns of La Cofradía, Sabino Cuate, El Platanito and El Pantano. 

"We came here because the people from over there told us we'd better get out to this side because they were awaiting the arrival of the bad people," said a housewife displaced by violence. 

With fear in their faces, the children are afraid to talk about life in the high mountains, the women have a hard time expressing the days they lived in the presence of strange people in their homes. 

"We came because we were told that in the other ranches the gunmen came and forced the women to make tortillas to eat and even to kill a cow because they are many," said one of the displaced. 

They talk about the sorrow they felt when they left their husbands at home to care for the animals and to protect the few things that have managed to buy with a lot of sacrifices. "Most of the men stayed up there on the ranch, but yet a few others got out coming here to Chinobampo." 

There are about 70 people that have been displaced. Some settled in the town of Montoya with relatives, others remain in Chinobampo and the shelters are ready to service 30 people, including children, women and senior citizens. "We will do everything possible to support these people who by necessity have had to leave home," said Vianey Melendrez de Rubio mayor of DIF. 

She said members of the community have offered food and clothing, among other assistance. Thousands of families left their home 

Thousands of families in the hills of Sinaloa were driven away by the wave of violent and are starting to move to Mazatlan. 

They live in shantytowns, rent houses in disadvantaged areas or manage to move in with relatives. 

Without work and with a social and emotional shock is the side effect of the brutal violence of the displaced that is both real and alarming. 

Last week, Alejandro Higuera Osuna, mayor of Mazatlan, acknowledged the lack of an emergency plan to deal with the large flow of refugees. 

According to a report of the Monitoring Centre on Internal Displacement, since 2007, violence in Mexico has caused shifts in Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, Michoacán and Guerrero. 

The document is critical of the Mexican government for lack of attention to the serious problem. "There is no mechanism to monitor or report on the issue of displacement, to ensure the physical and legal protection of the property that is left abandoned, or provide support to integrate the displaced to their new surrounding. The Mexican government also has not sought the support of international community," said the Report.

Gatilleros Decompose in the Mountains of Choix.

The bodies of the sicarios killed in shootouts that happened all week at the top of the mountains of Choix on the border with Chihuahua are starting to decompose and give out foul odors.

The residents of the area have expressed fear because on one hand they are being attacked by the gunmen and on another are afraid of getting sick from the stench of the bodies. 

The dead are the sicarios that were killed in confrontations with rivals cartels, but because the dead are not locals, no one bothers to pick up the bodies and give them a respectful burial. The bodies are mostly found inside the line of the state of Chihuahua. It is said that the cartels that were fighting before they met with the military were the Beltran-Leyva faction and the powerful Sinaloa cartel, who appeared to be the ones who moved in to take over the turf controlled by the beltran clan. 

The decomposition does not break down fast enough causing health risks is what the inhabitants fear. The head of the Sanitary District in North Zone, Jesus Caudillo Ginés, dismissed any health problem from exposure to the air around the bodies. 

"In the case of the Ministry of Health, we're looking at it, we will probably coordinate with the Environmental Health department, but we will be ready in case conditions could cause a problem, but right now there is none," said Caudillo Gines. 

He added that he will certainly coordinate with the corresponding authorities, and he made assurances that they are not yet considering a risk of the odors generated by the decomposition of bodies, and in this case he is asking the Sanitary Regulation to monitor the situation. 

He also said that the Health Regulation will contact the appropriate local authorities for the steps that have to take and to reassure the rest of the population. The official said that the decomposition and break down of the bodies will last days. 

The reality in the mountains.
The toll of dead given by the Attorney General of the State, Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez in the conflicts in Choix was at 22 that included a soldier and a municipal police officer, but perhaps the real version might be different. 

There are versions by the residents that many civilians were killed by gunmen who arrived in the villages looking for shelter, food and water. Many were already given funerals and buried in their communities. 

They said that there are still a few bodies of sicarios in between the mountains of Choix because they are outsiders and have no one to claim their bodies. This may indicate possibly members of the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) who came from the north of Sinaloa and/or south from Chihuahua. 

An example of this is in the lines of Choix with Morelos Chihuahua, there are at least two bodies among a pine forest, right between two communities called Santa Rosa and Mesa de los Leales. They have also seen more bodies closest to the line with Choix. 

The people have asked authorities to remove these bodies as they are concerned that the decomposition might generate more infections. 

Yesterday morning a resident of the mountains said "the air smells bad, the odor is coming from the dead who are on the side," referring to the dead gunmen who were lying between the hills covered with pines. Other people say that sicarios went up to the top of the mountains of Morelos, after abandoning four wheeled vehicles so that the military could take them up to the top and they could escape the "hot spot", the area where they have staged gunfights between the military and sicarios with at least 20 dead. 

IDs. 

Some of the dead were identified by relatives at the funeral home to which they were transferred to. 

Some were identified as Eleuterio Baca Emeterio Espinoza who is from Palomas, Chihuahua, Ramon Samaniego Ruperto Rodriguez, 34, who is from Navojoa, Sonora, Ignacio Bogue Izaguirre, 35, from Navojoa, Sonora and Alfonso Chavez Chaparro, 22, originally from Cascates Morelos, Chihuahua, who was killed by gunmen when he came home. 

Control.  
After nearly a week of intense fighting in the Sierra of Choix authorities now report that the area is currently controlled by the Army, the State Ministerial Police and Municipal Police.

The Vehicles

One of the "cloned" trucks made to look like an official police vehicle was found by the Mexican military abandoned by sicarios in the Sierra de Choix and was towed to the military installation of the 89 Infantry Battalion in Ahome.

With a heavily guarded operation the armored vehicle was transported on the road Mochis-San Blas and had to actually be recovered by a "Hummer" as this was the only type of vehicle that could enter the location of where the vehicle was abandoned. 

For 2 days a civilian tow truck attempted to recover the clone vehicle while having to cross through primitive villages and steep hills but because of the difficulty of the terrain it was decided to use a vehicle with less weight, 4 wheel drive and the adequate strength to remove the vehicle. 

This vehicle was found intact and did not have any signs of bullet holes to the body. It was an armored truck with fake police logos and official numbers of the Federal Police.

Firefight Extends to the Chihuahua state line

Fighting between armed groups and military were so intense that the fight carried over to the state line of Chihuahua and the sicarios, some dressed in military uniforms and armed to the teeth, had been forced outside the limits of Sinaloa.

Residents of nearby communities fear for their lives and are begging for intervention from the authorities to avoid a tragedy as they have learned that the sicarios have displaced whole families from their homes while passing through the high mountains of Choix.

General traffic has been drastically reduced in some localities in the state of Chihuahua and even some of the residents have blocked the entrance to the mountains to prevent people from going up or down to their communities because of the danger against the attack by the "fake soldiers" and the fear of stray bullet that could endanger family members.

Air traffic from civilian aircraft has been restricted as a safety measure, as it is feared that some of the armed group will attempt to escape at all costs.

Source: El Debate